Preface

Today, consumers demand safe, minimally processed foods without microbiological hazards and additives but with a long shelf life. Food security is the basis of human health and quality of life. Today, global food security has become a major strategic issue and has attracted worldwide attention.

Food safety is achieved when food is available and accessible and when food use and stability are at levels that allow all people physical and economical access to affordable, safe, and nutritious food. When one of these four pillars weakens, then a society undermines its food security.

Most countries have established laws and regulations to provide the population with safe food. According to the law, safe food is non-toxic, harmless, and in accordance with nutritional requirements. It does not pose acute, chronic, or potential danger to human health, for example, during planting, breeding, processing, packaging, storage, transport, sales, consumption, and other food activities. According to mandatory standards and requirements, there should be no foods that contain harmful or poisonous substances with hidden potential to cause harm or even death to consumers.

Food safety and quality are greatly influenced by pollution and economic development. Given the rapid socioeconomic changes of the last decade, food processing, food supply, and consumption patterns have undergone significant changes, increasing the number of food security problems. One of these problems, present worldwide, is mycotoxin contamination. This contamination decreases product quality and reduces export values, which can lead to significant economic losses for producing countries.

Mycotoxin contamination can be mitigated to acceptable levels through an integrated management approach along value chains, good agricultural practices, biological control, sorting, electromagnetic radiation treatments, ozone fumigation, chemical control agents, plant growth, good manufacturing practices, and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and other management systems used to reduce and prevent the risks of mycotoxin contamination. Contamination of food by mycotoxins has a considerable impact on food security, trade, economy, and public health.

Given the ongoing evolution in the field of food safety, this book, *Mycotoxins and Food Safety - Recent Advances*, presents comprehensive information on and recent advances in mycotoxins and food safety. aims to come up with the most comprehensive presentation of current information in the literature to improve existing knowledge about regards Recent Advances in Mycotoxins and Food Safety. Chapters are organized into the following five sections: "Introduction: Mycotoxins and Food Safety Overview"; "The Influence of Contaminants on Food Safety" "Mycotoxins in Feed"; "Indirect Mycotoxin Contamination of Food Safety"; and "Control and Reduction of Mycotoxin Contamination."

I would like to thank Author Service Managers Ms. Iva Simcic, Ms. Marijana Josipovic, and Ms. Ana Javor, at IntechOpen for their support during the preparation and publication of this book. I would also like to thank the contributing authors for their excellent chapters. I am especially grateful to my husband and children for their understanding and my colleagues at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca for their support.

#### **Romina Alina Marc**

Section 1

Introduction: Mycotoxins and

Food Safety Overview

Food Engineering Department, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj Napoca, Romania

Section 1
